Companies reach double-digit growth with advanced analytics

Dive Brief

• Two-thirds of companies that leverage advanced analytics strategies say they achieved revenue growth of 15% or more, according to a new report from Forbes Insights and EY. Meanwhile, 63% of respondents with advanced analytics strategies reported that operating margins had increased 15% or more last year, and 60% said they improved their risk profiles.
• The global survey of more than 1,500 executives from companies with at least $500 million in annual revenues also found Chinese companies are most proficient in applying advanced analytics. When it comes to industries, telecom, technology and manufacturing lead in applying advanced analytics, according to the report.
• The results are also fueling investment: more than half of respondents indicated they are planning to invest at least $10 million in data and analytics over the next two years.

Dive Insight:

Leveraging an analytics strategy “central to the overall business strategy” pays off handsomely, often leading to double-digit growth. But the U.S. still has some work to do. China is beating the U.S. in the application of advanced analytics strategies, though the U.S. moved up from a fifth-place finish last year to second place this year. The U.K. came in third place for the past two years.

But getting better at leveraging analytics also means executives must trust the data they acquire, and that could be a sticking point as well. According to a recent report from Forrester Consulting commissioned by KPMG last November, though many enterprises are collecting Big Data, not all trust that they are managing their data and analytics processes effectively enough to drive decision making and desired outcomes.

The push for analytics strategies is also reflected in demand, and salaries, for data scientists and data analytics professionals tasked with figuring out what companies are doing with data and how they can leverage the insight organizations gain. Those professionals are projected to see the largest non-executive salary jumps this year.

This post originally appeared on our sister publication, CIO Dive. Our mission is to provide busy professionals like you with a bird’s-eye-view of the Information Technology industry in 60 seconds